SHK CH 731 (Patreon)

Back to Sol, the pain didn’t stop. 

Even after Adam began to write, even after the golden blood seeped into the book resting in Sol’s soul, the pressure inside him didn’t disappear. If anything, it became heavier. Still, it was controllable. 

His pride would never let him succumb to something as measly as pain. Even if it seemed to burrow deep into his soul. 

Man this shit fucking hurts. 

He gritted his teeth and grumbled inwardly. The divine essence of Struggle was still active, still trying to force itself into places it didn’t belong. But the difference now was that it was no longer spreading on its own. It was being pulled. He didn’t know what Adam was doing, but the old man clearly had a far better understanding of Divinity than himself.

While Adam was working inside, Sol was also receiving help outside.

Lilith reached him first. Her expression was calm, but her steps were slow and careful, as if walking into deep water. She made sure not to approach the ominous energy Sol had used. But her eyes keep getting drawn to it. 

It felt dangerous. Extremely so. But at the same time, it felt very familiar. She decided that she would meditate here later. 

The moment her hand touched his, Sol felt some of the pressure lift as he focused the power into her.

Just a little.

He transferred a fragment of the energy into her. Not enough to hurt her. Not enough to change her path. Just enough to make a difference. At Lilith’s current level, all she needed was enough energy to complete her metamorphosis.

She tensed slightly. Her aura flickered for a moment; unlike Sol, Milia, and Nuwa, Lilith had no power or skills related to devouring. Receiving power in such a way was a first for her.

Sol expected that. Her foundation was already complete. Still, even if she couldn’t absorb it, she could help redirect it.

“Sol. I have decided where exactly I will create my territory.” Lilith grinned at Sol’s surprised expression and gave one last look at the place that was filled with the power of the End. There could be no better place than here. Once she made her decision, she closed her eyes and focused on absorbing the pure energy Sol was giving. It wasn’t easy, but since Sol was sending a gentle and steady flow, she could handle it. 

Wukong came next. His clothes were torn because of his training with Lilith, and his staff buzzed faintly in the unstable air, but he walked with the same casual confidence as always.

“Tch. You look like shit,” he said, crouching beside Sol. “Need a hand?”Inwardly,  Wukong felt humiliated. He and Lilith had appeared in such a grandiose way, only to be of no help when Sol needed it the most. 

The fact that they were separated because of a Law was of no importance. Rules were made to be broken, and Wukong’s goal was to reach a level where he could destroy all laws.

Sol didn’t answer. He didn’t need to. He knew how important pride was for people like them. No words could help the handsome monkey king now. 

“Well. We can talk about this later. I think it’s time for me to also truly become a demigod. Of course, if you will have me. I need a place to rent.”

Sol chuckled, and the two exchanged a fist bump before Wukong placed a hand on his back.

The moment their energy connected, another sliver of power flowed out.

Like with Lilith, Sol allowed no hint of divinity to flow in his connection with Wukong. 

The Monkey King's concept of Combat was extremely similar to that of Asura. In fact, with Asura dead, giving the divinity to Wukong would be the best. But he knew that the man would never accept. 

“You are damn right,” Wukong growled softly, feeling insight into all forms of combat thanks to observing Asura clash with Sol. In fact, the Law Asura used at the end was very similar to Wukong’s Zone. 

Undeniably, a part of him was tempted to devour the insights of Asura. But in doing so, he would destroy his own potential. 

Observing and learning from it was one thing, but his road was ultimately different. 

“We are not enough.” Lilith interrupted them. The power of Asura was strenuous. “Call the others.”

Sol nodded and sent a signal to his beloved. Thanks to the ring he created for the witches and his soul connections with his contracts, this was more than easy.

****

Outside Sol’s dimensions, all the women who received Sol messages immediately reacted. 

In fact, Milia, Isis, Lilin, and Setsuna were already extremely stressed. They could feel his condition since they were connected to Sol, even beyond dimensions, time, and space. 

This was why they knew that something was wrong. They could feel the changes in his soul and the danger he was facing.

In the Tower of Babel, the space in front of Medea twisted. Without speaking, she raised her hand, and a crack in reality opened. A portal. It was jagged and unstable, but it would lead them to Sol’s dimension.

Behind her, Freya, Kali, and Milia were already moving. Medea's lips were tight, arms crossed over her chest. Freya said nothing, but the sharpness in her gaze was obvious. Kali was calmer than the rest, though even she clenched her fists once before stepping forward.

Milia was the first to walk through. Her face was unreadable, but her aura was colder than usual. Behind her, Setsuna and Lilin appeared almost simultaneously. They were previously in Wratharis, but thanks to the rings, they could open a portal to Sol’s dimension wherever they were.

Both were silent, but their expressions said enough. Setsuna’s jaw was locked tight, her fists trembling at her sides. As a knight, not being able to fight alongside her King was already a failure. She could only wonder what kind of enemy he faced this time. 

 Lilin gritted her teeth hard enough to draw blood. The air around her warped with pressure. Her discussion with Lilin had helped her calm down some of her fears and feelings of inferiority. But she was reminded once more that there was so little they could do. 

Setsuna placed a hand on hers. “Let’s do what we can. Right now, he needs us.” Lilin wanted to snap, but she knew that Setsuna felt the same thing as her about their weaknesses. She sighed and nodded. “Let’s go.”

Isis appeared last. Her shoulders were shaking. She tried to wipe her eyes quickly, but the tears kept coming. Just a few moments ago, she had been filled with joy because she noticed the energy signature of her parents in the mortal dimension. But now she could only think about Sol.

“He’s not dead,” she muttered to herself. “He’s not dead.” As a master of Sol, she could feel more vividly what was going on, and her understanding made her all the more scared. 

She dared not

The group passed through the portal and into Sol’s realm. What greeted them was worse than any of them expected.

Twisted terrain. A shattered sky. Divine energy that burned just from being near it. And at the center of it all, Sol, barely upright, bleeding golden light from dozens of cracks in his body.

They didn’t hesitate.

One by one, they stepped forward.

Medea. Persephone. Kali. Freya. Milia. Setsuna. Lilin. Isis.

Each one walked with purpose. They knew that this was a great opportunity and that after this night, their realms would increase greatly. But none of them smiled. There was no joy here. Just a necessity.

Each of them stood in the same position they once did during the ritual for his ascension to the King's realm. Each helped anchor the runaway force burning inside his body.

Further in the distance, Pandora, Nefertiti, and the other watched. Ideally, Sol wished to send them some energy as well, but not now. A precarious balance was reached, and adding one more person would disturb everything.

The pain didn’t vanish. His injuries didn’t heal. The backlash didn’t stop.

But slowly, the seemingly unending energy that was burning inside of him settled down.

His vision cleared slightly. The whispers at the edge of his thoughts quieted. The weight in his chest evened out.

The power of Deus, wild and directionless, was no longer pushing against his will. It was responding. Still volatile. Still too much. But no longer entirely out of reach.

Adam’s voice echoed again.

{You are very lucky. Truthfully, I envy you. It might be cheesy to say this, but you have what I lacked the most. People who believe in you and in whom you can believe.}

Adam’s voice reached him. It was faint and weaker than he remembered.  

In Sol’s inner world, the golden blood finished its last line, and the book inside Sol’s soul pulsed with a faint light. Nothing flashy. Just a low, steady hum.

He looked at the story written in the book. The story of a poor god born for battle with no goal of his own. 

It was a pitiful story, and yet there was a beauty in it. 

Sadly, there would be no happy ending for him. 

[...Thus, the power of Struggle was released in the world. Waiting for someone to obtain it.]

This was just the story of a minor character. One out of thousands upon thousands, and he had no power to put an End to it. As such, he wrote,

[To be continued…]

The moment those words were written. Something seemed to snap into place. The power fighting inside Sol vanished as if it had never existed in the first place. Adam had rewritten reality in a way so that the action of Sol’s eating the divinity of Struggle never happened.

This action consumed nearly all the power at his disposal, and he could feel his existence vanish at a higher speed than initially intended. 

This was not good. The faster he vanished, the more information Sol would have to assimilate. Sol’s ego was incredibly powerful, but there was a limit to it. Cracks were already appearing after he used a power he could not yet control and tried to devour an ex god whole.

Truly, what a troublesome child.

At the very least, this was going to be an important lesson for him. It was time for Sol to understand the danger those reincarnated gods truly posed. 

Adam smiled. He felt no sadness at the way Asura ended. He had already been given mercy once. Sadly, he was not able to cherish his second chance. 

 I wonder, Sol. How many people will be part of the Happy End you are envisioning? 

****

Back to Sol, thanks to Adam’s intervention, the rest of the ritual proceeded smoothly, and the energy was shared among all ten. The quantity each of them could actually absorb was in no way equal, but they were all feeling bloated at the moment. 

Lilith let out a small breath and sat beside him. Her skin was pale, and her mana felt unstable, but she didn’t seem too concerned.

Wukong looked half-asleep, eyes narrowed. “So. That’s it?”

Sol stayed silent for a few seconds before answering.

“…For now.”

His voice was rough. His body still felt like it was about to fall apart. But he could feel that the worst had passed. He could hear Adam’s voice no longer. But he could still feel his presence. Adam was now asleep, and it was unlikely that he would be able to help if Sol recklessly devoured another demigod.

For the time being, the crisis had been handled.

He looked down at his hand.

No more outbursts. No more stray divine sparks. Just a slow pulse of steady energy.

He had kept his Balance.

Barely.

Lilith turned to him. “What do we do now?”

Sol thought for a moment before replying.

“…Rest.”

He closed his eyes and exhaled. There was still his initial target. The fox woman who caused all these problems.

Sadly, Sol knew that he was in no state to fight or even search another demigod. Furthermore, the one who could affect Karma seemed to have erased all traces. 

But Sol did not despair.

He didn’t know how long he’d have before the next problem appeared. But right now, he had done enough.

He just wanted to sleep. 

(An: This is the end of the arc. To be frank I did not really plan this arc for now lol. Initially Asura and the fox were supposed to appear during the wedding. But then I thought, I really don't want anything to disturb the wedding and so they appeared sooner. While it was short arc, I hope you liked it. The ex gods are dangerous and Sol need to become even stronger.)